Misfit,
Jawbone and Fitbit have all renewed their fitness-tracking line-up with an even
more impressive array of gadgets, and are set for a royal rumble like no other.
While these devices are soon to be over shadowed by the futuristic features of
the Fitbit Charge, Jawbone UP3 and Microsoft Band, all of these bands bring
existing fitness tracking tech at a wallet-friendly price this Christmas.

But
while their feature sets might be nearly identical, there’s far more to
choosing between these three trackers than meets the eye. We help you decide
which band is right for you.

Misfit vs Jawbone vs Fitbit:
Features

All three of these contenders to be
your fitness band of choice, the Misfit Flash, Jawbone UP Move and Fitbit Flex
posses the same basic set of features. Each can keep a track of your daily
movements, alerting you to how many steps you take and calories you burn,
telling you when you’ve hit your target.

Sleep tracking is also a big selling
point, giving you detailed info on your slumber. This ranges from hours of deep
and light sleep, how many times you woke-up and the Fitbit features a nifty
alarm that ditches the usual loud beeps for a soft vibration which adjusts to
when you’re in a light part of your sleep cycle.

It’s important to note that the
Misfit Flash automatically goes into sleep mode between a predetermined set of
hours every night, so, unlike the Jawbone, you don’t manually have to
tell it you’re about to catch the Z’s. We like this, as it’s a pain to remember
to set a device into sleep mode every night.

Each device packs Bluetooth so you
can easily sync your stats with the companion mobile apps, which we’ll talk
more about later, and, in the case of the Fitbit, you can even sync it to your
computer too.

Water resistance is another key
feature to look for when choosing the right wearable, this is not only so you
don’t have to take it off every time you have a shower, but also so you can
track your water based activities, like swimming.

All three trackers can survive a dip in
the wet stuff, though if you’re a swimmer it’s best to avoid the UP Move, as
Jawbone says that it’s only waterproof enough to be taken in the shower.
Misfit’s Flash can survive up to 30m and will track swimming activity, while
the Flex can also dive down to 10m.

Misfit
Flash vs Jawbone vs Fitbit: Battery life

The Flash really shines in the
battery department, ditching the regular rechargeable battery that juices up the Fitbit. Misfit instead opted for a user-replaceable battery
which should last around six months use before you have to change up, which is
really impressive.

So impressive in fact, that Jawbone
has followed suit with its new UP MOVE tracker, which also boasts a replaceable coin style battery.

The least impressive of the three in
battery terms is the Fitbit Flex, which needs to be plugged about once every
five days, though if you keep syncing with multiple devices to a minimum, you
might be able to stretch it to a week.

Misfit Flash vs Jawbone vs Fitbit: Design

Designed
by serial tech artist Yves Behar, the Jawbone UP MOVE doesn’t quite pack the
class of the Jawbone UP3. Like the Misfit Flash there’s a host of colours
available, and these two certainly represent the best choice for anyone who
prefers technicoloured tech.

In
black the Fitbit Flex offers the sort of business-friendly look that won’t
clash with your suit, and it’s also available in a host of vibrant colours.

The
Fitbit Flex is designed to be worn around the wrist at all times, however, the
Misfit Flash and Jawbone UP Move can both be clipped onto any part of the body
or worn on the wrist. That means they can be placed on the shoe for cycling
tracking – making them powerful all-round trackers.

None of the three trackers feature a
proper screen, all the devices will show your goal progress from a series of
LEDs on the front. The Misfit does this particularly elegantly, although its
attempt to tell the time is confusing at best.

All are constructed from plastic, although
the Fitbit Flex’s hard plastic band isn’t quite as comfortable as the
rubberised Jawbone and Misfit efforts.

Misfit Flash vs Jawbone vs Fitbit: App

As none of these bands feature a
display, it’s all down to the companion app to give you all the information
they collect.

On the other hand, Jawbone has added a
host of new features for the UP Move, including Smart Coach which challenges
you to beat your stats, and even prompts you to stay hydrated or take work
breaks, helping turn the data stream into something that improves your life.

Rocking a Windows Phone? Well you’ve
only got one choice we’re afraid, and that’s the Flex. Fitbit is the only brand
to release a Windows Store app for its device, which is a real shame. As you’d
expect, they all work perfectly with both iOS and Android, though we’ve found
that new features and updates always come to Apple devices first.

1 Comment

10-Nov-2014 5:48 pm

arijaycomet says:

Great review, but you have a bit of apples to oranges here. Trying to compare the $99 (USD) Fitbit Flex tot he $49 (USD) others is improper. People willing to spend $99 or more are going to have a lot more selection, whereas people looking for true entry level are probably happiest at that $50-mark the other items are.

As you'll see in my review the difference is all three of the items I compared are the same price ($50 USD). And all of them have very similar features. The big difference is that you have to spend an extra $15 (USD) to get the wrist-band for the Jawbone Move, making it actually 30% more than the Zip or Flash. However, I do agree with you that the Jawbone has the best app, though I'm not entirely sure I think that price is worthy.